System for collecting television program data

ABSTRACT

A system for collecting program data from television systems is provided. The program data is collected at a main facility that distributes the program data to television distribution facilities for use in passive or interactive electronic television program guides. The system allows personnel at television station office computers to access a database of program data maintained at the main facility and to construct program schedules electronically using this database. The system error checks the program schedules in real time as they are constructed. The system allows reports, such as ad trafficking reports for use by television station personnel, to be generated based on the program schedule of a given television system.

This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/791,968,filed on Mar. 2, 2004, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/766,566, filed on Jan. 19, 2001, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/948,760, filed onOct. 10, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,130, all of which are herebyincorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to collecting television program data fromtelevision systems.

Cable, satellite, and broadcast television systems provide viewers witha large number of television channels. Users have traditionallyconsulted printed television program schedules to determine the programsbeing broadcast at a particular time. More recently, various passive andinteractive television program guides have been developed that allowtelevision program information to be displayed on a user's television.

For example, a passive program guide may be provided in the form of acontinuously scrolling list of television program listings. Such a guideis typically provided on a dedicated television channel. A user canconsult the scrolling listings by tuning to that channel.

Interactive program guides allow a user to navigate through televisionprogram listings using a remote control. Television listings aretypically organized in a grid in which each row contains televisionprogram listings for a different channel and each column corresponds toa different scheduled broadcast time. The user can scroll up or down toview program listings for different channels or may pan left or right toview information about programs being broadcast at different times.Various navigational aids may be provided to help the user find programlistings of interest.

The distribution system for a passive guide typically uses charactergenerators located at cable system headends to generate scrollingprogram listings. Because each cable system has a different televisionprogram schedule, the character generators in the headends of each cablesystem must be provided with customized television program data. Suchcustomized television program data is typically transmitted to eachheadend via satellite.

Passive scrolling guides for satellite television systems operatesimilarly. Television program data customized for the channel lineup andprogram schedule of a satellite service may be distributed on adedicated satellite channel.

Interactive program guides are typically implemented on the set-topboxes or satellite receivers of individual users. Each set-top box orsatellite receiver in a given cable or satellite system must be providedwith television program data that is customized for that system.Typically, such program data is transmitted via satellite to each cablesystem headend or satellite distribution facility. The cable systemheadends and satellite distribution facilities for each televisionsystem retransmit the data to the users of that system using thevertical blanking interval or side band of a television channel.

A provider of television program guide data typically maintains adatabase of television program data such as program titles, ratings,running times, program summaries, reviews, etc. The data provider alsomust gather data concerning each television system's particularschedule, including the channel lineup, the programs scheduled for eachchannel and their scheduled broadcast times, pay-per-view pricing andordering information, etc. Such data is gathered from a variety ofsources, such as local television stations, cable systems, satellitesystems, national networks, superstations, premium services,pay-per-view services, etc., each of which may have their own scheduleinformation. The data provider customizes the program data for eachtelevision system to which program data is distributed.

The process of collecting television program data from its varioussources is labor intensive. Television system personnel typically fillout forms by hand and fax or mail this information to the data provider.As a result, errors may be introduced into the data. For example, thereis the possibility that errors will be introduced when forms are filledout improperly or when personnel at the data provider make a mistake intranscribing the information from the forms to the computer system atthe data provider. Other errors may result from ambiguities in the data(e.g., when two programs share the same title). Resolving suchambiguities and eliminating other potential errors is burdensome for thedata provider.

Moreover, there are personnel at the television system who would like tobe able use a reliable electronic version of the schedule informationcontained in the forms. For example, personnel who sell commercial airtime need to know precisely how much time is available for advertizingin various time slots.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide animproved system for collecting television program data for use inpassive and interactive television program guides.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This and other objects of the invention are accomplished in accordancewith the principles of the present invention by providing a system forcollecting schedules of television program data at a main facility. Themain facility creates customized sets of program data. The customizedsets of program data may be used by various television distributionfacilities, such as cable system headends, satellite distributionfacilities, and television broadcast facilities and may also be used byvideo and print distribution facilities. The main facility maydistribute the program data to the television distribution facilitiesvia a communications link such as a satellite link for use in passive orinteractive electronic television program guides. The main facility maysimilarly distribute the program data to the video and printdistribution facilities (e.g., for use in a printed television programguide). If desired, program data may include system-specific informationsuch as pay-per-view pricing information, telephone numbers forpay-per-view ordering or other services, etc.

The electronic data collection features of the system allow personnel attelevision station office computers to access a database of program datamaintained at the main facility and to construct program scheduleselectronically using this database. The system performs real-time errorchecking of the program schedules as they are constructed. For example,if the program schedule is made up of a grid of program titles, thereal-time error checking may involve checking the grid for overlaps inadjacent grid cells, duplicate titles in adjacent grid cells, orexcessive time gaps between grid cells.

Various editing tools may be used to facilitate program data entry inthe schedule grid. For example, a program list may be provided thatcontains titles of television programs obtained from the database ofprogram data at the main facility. Personnel at a television systemoffice computer may select a desired title from the program list. Theselected title may be added to the program schedule grid by clicking onan “add” button on the display screen of the schedule constructionediting tool. A corresponding “erase cell” button may be provided forerasing a selected cell of program data from the grid.

Summary information associated with a selected title in the program listmay be displayed in the program list for personnel constructing theprogram schedule to review prior to adding the selected title to theschedule. This prevents potentially erroneous entries from being addedto the list when two television programs share the same title but aredistinguishable based on their summary information.

The system allows reports, such as ad trafficking reports, to begenerated based on the program schedules constructed at the televisionsystem office computers. Television system office personnel may usethese reports when selling advertizing time, making promotions, orperforming other sales and marketing tasks that involve the use ofdetailed program schedule information. If desired, such ad traffickingreports may contain program summary information obtained directly fromthe main facility database.

Further features of the invention, its nature and various advantageswill be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the followingdetailed description of the preferred embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an illustrative system inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an illustrative flow chart of steps involved in the operationof the system of FIG. 1 in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an illustrative display screen that may be used to construct aprogram schedule in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an illustrative program data entry screen for use inconstructing a program schedule containing pay-per-view information inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an illustrative flow chart of steps involved in real-timeerror checking during the process of constructing a program schedule inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an illustrative ad trafficking report generated by the systemof the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An illustrative system 10 in accordance with the present invention isshown in FIG. 1. Main facility 12, which is typically operated by atelevision program data provider, distributes program data from programdata database 14 to television distribution facilities such astelevision distribution facility 16 of television system 18 for use inpassive and interactive television program guides. If desired, theprogram data may also be used in other services. Television distributionfacility 16 may be a cable system headend, a satellite televisiondistribution facility, or a broadcast distribution facility.

Each television system 18 (i.e., cable system, satellite system, orbroadcast system) distributes television programming according to adifferent program schedule. Accordingly, each television distributionfacility 16 receives a set of television program data that is customizedfor use in the program guide or guides of its associated televisionsystem 18. Although there are a number of television systems 18associated with main facility 12, only a single television system 18 isshown in its entirety in FIG. 1 to avoid over-complicating the drawings.

Program data is distributed from main facility 12 to televisiondistribution facility 16 via communications link 20. Communications link20 may be a satellite link, a telephone network link, a cable or fiberoptic link, a microwave link, a combination of such links, or any othersuitable communications path. The program data transmitted by mainfacility 12 to television distribution facility 16 may includetelevision program scheduled broadcast times, channels, titles,summaries, reviews, ratings, running times, pay-per-view orderinginformation such as pay-per-view telephone ordering numbers,pay-per-view prices, and any other suitable information related totelevision programming.

A passive television program guide may be provided using charactergenerator equipment within television distribution facility 16 toconvert the customized program data for that facility 16 into ascrolling guide of program listings. The scrolling program listings areprovided to the user television equipment 24 of multiple users viacommunications paths 22. Communications paths 22 preferably havesufficient bandwidth to allow television distribution facility 16 todistribute television programming to user television equipment 24. Ifdesired, television programming may be provided over separatecommunications paths (not shown). If television distribution facility 16is a cable system headend, communications paths 22 may be coaxial cableand fiber optic links. If television distribution facility 16 is asatellite or broadcast distribution facility, communications paths 22may be free-space links between transmitter equipment in televisiondistribution facility 16 and receiver equipment in user equipment 24.Communications paths 22 may be used to provide a scrolling guide ofprogram listings to the users on a dedicated television channel. Anytype of user television equipment that contains a standard televisionmay be used to view such a passive guide.

An interactive television program guide may be provided byredistributing the customized program data provided to televisiondistribution facility 16 from main facility 12 to the user televisionequipment 24 of each user via communications paths 22. Each user'stelevision equipment 24 preferably includes a set-top box, satellitereceiver, or comparable equipment that executes an interactive programguide application to provide the functions of the interactive televisionprogram guide using the program data.

Cable television systems, satellite television systems, and broadcasttelevision systems are collectively referred to herein as televisionsystems. Such television systems have associated television systemoffices, each of which has a television system office computer. Forexample, television system 18 has an associated distribution facilityoffice 26. Broadcast television station office 32 is associated with abroadcast television system that is not shown separately in FIG. 1.Distribution facility office 26 has computer 28 and broadcast televisionstation office 32 has computer 34. If desired, television system officesmay be located within their associated television distributionfacilities.

Personnel at distribution facility office 26 can link computer 28 todatabase 14 of main facility 12 via data network 30. Similarly,personnel at broadcast television station office 32 can link computer 34to database 14 via data network 30. Data network 30 may be the Internet,a telecommunications network such as a telephone network, or any othersuitable data communications network. Computers 28 and 34 and one ormore computers such as computer 36 in main facility 12 executecommunications applications, editing applications, data processingapplications, and other suitable computer applications for implementingthe program data entry, editing, collecting, and processing functions ofthe present invention.

Illustrative steps involved in the operation of system 10 are shown inFIG. 2. When personnel at a television system office desire to constructa schedule of program data for submission to main facility 12 (e.g., toreport that television system's schedule for the upcoming week orweeks), communications are established between a television systemoffice computer such as computer 28 or computer 34 of FIG. 1 and a mainfacility computer such as computer 36 of FIG. 1 at step 38. The way inwhich communications are established between the television systemoffice computer and the main facility computer depends on the type ofcommunications applications and communications hardware used in system10. For example, communications may be established using a pair ofmodems that communicate directly over a telephone network. Data network30 may use satellite communications. If desired, data network 30 may bethe Internet and the television system office computer may use a webbrowser to communicate with a server implemented on the main facilitycomputer.

Regardless of the particular type of communications link that isestablished at step 38, the communications link allows personnel at thetelevision system office to connect to the main facility program datadatabase. As a result, at step 40 personnel at the television systemoffice computer are able to construct a program schedule for submissionto the data provider by accessing the database of the data providerdirectly, rather than by filling out forms by hand and mailing or faxingthem to the data provider for transcription onto the main facilitycomputer.

The schedule may be constructed by creating a new program schedule(e.g., in the form of a blank grid) or may be created from a preloadedschedule (e.g., in the form of a grid in which some of the grid cellsare already filled with program data). The term “grid” refers to gridsof all sizes including grids of single-cell width, such as may be usedwhen the television system involved is a single-channel local televisionbroadcast station that wishes to supply its upcoming program schedule tothe data provider.

Once such a grid or other suitable initialized program schedule file hasbeen created, schedule construction may proceed using an editingapplication. Suitable editing applications may run primarily on thetelevision system office computer, primarily on the main facilitycomputer, or may run on both the television system office computer andthe main facility computer.

A display 44 of the type that may be provided on the television systemoffice computer during the program schedule construction of step 40 isshown in FIG. 3. The features of display 44 are illustrative only. Anyother suitable computer application may be used to allow personnel toconstruct a schedule of program data for submission to the mainfacility.

Display 44 provides a number of options in the form of drop-down menu46. File option 48 provides access to file management functions such asfor retrieving, saving, naming, and printing program schedules. Editoption 50 provides access to editing functions such as cut, paste, copy,delete, undelete, program grid cell-size control, etc. Setup option 52provides access to system configuration functions such as generalpreferences, display preferences, program data preloading preferences,passwords, etc. Tools option 54 provides access to functions such aspay-per-view data entry mode, report generation functions, andmiscellaneous functions. Search option 56 provides access to searchingfunctions such as theme or category searching during data entry.Communications option 58 provides access to communications functionssuch as communications preferences and options for submitting completedprogram schedules to the data provider at the main facility.

Various display modes may be used. In the display arrangement fordisplay 44 that is shown in FIG. 3, a program schedule grid 60 isprovided for entry and editing of program data. Personnel may add datato a cell in grid 60 by typing in a desired entry. In addition,personnel at the television system office computer may place data ingrid 60 by selecting an entry from program list 62. Program list 62preferably contains a list of program titles and related programinformation that is obtained directly from program data database 14(FIG. 1) in the main facility. Because such program data is obtainedfrom the program data database, program titles selected from programlist 62 are essentially error-free. Moreover, personnel at thetelevision system office computer may access program summaryinformation, running times, ratings, reviews, and other program data inthe database that would not otherwise be readily available to thetelevision system.

The cell of grid 60 into which program data for a given program is to beplaced may be selected by placing cursor 64 on top of a desired cell andclicking once (e.g., using a mouse, trackball, or other suitablepointing device). This preferably causes a highlight such as highlight66 to appear on grid 60 surrounding the selected cell. If a selectedcell contains program data, that program data may be erased by clickingon erase cell option 68.

Program data such as program titles, summary information, running times,ratings, star ratings, etc. may be added to the selected cell by placingcursor 64 on top of a desired title in program list 62 and clickingonce. This preferably causes a highlight 70 to appear over the desiredtitle (and over any other information that is contained adjacent to thetitle in program list 62). Clicking on add cell option 69 causes thehighlighted program title and other information to be added to theprogram schedule grid cell under highlight 66. If desired, a programtitle may be added to a given cell by double clicking on the desiredtitle in program list 62.

Display 44 preferably provides a summary information box 72 containingsummary information (e.g., a movie synopsis, etc.) for the program withthe highlighted title in program list 62. This reduces the possibilitythat errors will be introduced when two programs share the same title,because the summary information in box 72 may be reviewed by televisionsystem office personnel before the final selection of that entry fromlist 62 is made.

Scroll buttons 74 and 76 and positioning button 78 may be used to locatea desired title from list 62. In addition, a desired title may be typedin using the keyboard of the television system office computer. List 62preferably allows titles to be located and automatically displayed inthe center of list 62 under highlight 70 by typing in the first fewletters of a desired title or by typing in the first few letters of atitle and executing a search. Another feature that may be used tolocated a desired program entry is the search feature accessed throughsearch option 56. Selecting “search” from the drop-down menu associatedwith search option 56 allows desired categories (sports, movies, comedy,etc.) and keywords to be entered to locate a desired entry in list 62.Once the desired search parameters are defined, a search of database 14(FIG. 1) is performed to find a program entry from list 62 that matchesthe search parameters. Search results may be displayed in the center ofprogram list 62. Scroll buttons 80 and 82 and positioning button 84 maybe used to move among the various time slots in grid 60.

Scroll buttons 86, 88, and positioning button 90 may be used to movebetween different channels. A local broadcast television station mayhave only one channel for which program data for the schedule must beentered. A cable system or satellite system may have 100 or morechannels in their channel lineup, including networks channels, localchannels, premium channels, superstations, pay-per-view channels,promotional channels, etc. Several features may be used to facilitatethe entry of program data for a large number of channels. For example,because the program data entries in some of the cells of program grid 60do not change from week to week, it may be desirable to start theprocess of constructing a program schedule at step 40 using a copy ofthe program schedule for an existing grid 60. Cells that require newentries may then be updated.

Another option that may be used involves creating program schedule grids60 with preloaded program data. Because a cable or satellite televisionsystem may not wish to make any changes to the program schedule of abroadcast network that it carries, that broadcast network's programschedule can be automatically preloaded into an otherwise blank programgrid 60 when a grid is constructed at step 40. Schedules with preloadedprogramming data are provided using database 14 of FIG. 1. Any suitableprogram data may be preloaded. Configuration information concerning thechannels and time periods for which such preloading is desired may beentered using setup option 52.

When pay-per-view information is entered during step 40, a displayarrangement such as pay-per-view data entry display 92 of FIG. 4 may beused. The arrangement of display 92 helps personnel at the televisionsystem office computer to add pay-per-view program data to the cell ofprogram grid 60 under highlight 66. Display 92 may be invoked byselecting the pay-per-view data entry mode under tools option 54 of FIG.3. When display 92 is presented, channel call letters or otherinformation that identifies the channel associated with the highlightedcell is preferably automatically displayed in channel identifier box 94.The title for the pay-per-view event may be typed into title box 96.Alternatively, the title for the pay-per-view event may be selecteddirectly from database 14 (e.g., by typing the first few letters of adesired title and searching, by scrolling through a list of titles,etc.) and displayed in title box 96.

Titles may also be obtained from database 14 based on search parameterssuch as the selectable movies and sports parameters 98 and 100. In theexample of FIG. 4, movies parameter 98 has been selected, as indicatedby selection mark 102. To scroll through all available program titles,the user removes the selection marks from search parameters such asparameters 98 and 100 and clicks on arrow 104, whereupon a full list ofthe possible program entries from database 14 is displayed.

Pricing information may be entered by typing directly in price box 106or by selecting from popular preloaded prices after clicking on arrow108. The phone number a subscriber is to use to order the pay-per-viewevent is entered using phone number box 110. Boxes 110 a and 110 arepreferably preloaded to provide a visual cue that box 110 requires entryof a phone number and to save keystrokes during data entry. Boxes 110 cand 110 d are sized appropriately to accept a phone number. Done button112 may be clicked on when data entry using display 92 is complete.

The program data entries that are made during the schedule constructionof step 40 are preferably error checked in real time using anapplication that performs steps such as the illustrative error-checkingsteps shown in FIG. 5. At step 114, grid 60 is checked for entries withrunning times that create overlaps between adjacent cells. At step 116,grid 60 is checked for duplicate entries in adjacent cells. Althoughsuch duplicate entries are sometimes desired, the occurrence ofduplicate entries is preferably flagged, so as to avoid inadvertentduplicate entries. At step 118, grid 60 is checked for gaps inprogramming. If desired, gaps (periods of time with no programming) ofany size may be flagged.

Alternatively, only gaps of substantial duration (e.g., six hours ormore) may be flagged. At step 120, the program data of grid 60 ischecked for errors. For example, pay-per-view pricing information may bechecked to see if the price is within normal limits. Typically suchpricing information is checked to determine if the price is anon-negative number and less than a predefined upper price limit.Additional error-checking steps not shown in FIG. 5 may also beperformed.

Error-checking steps 114, 116, 118, and 120 may be implemented using anerror-checking application that is executed concurrently with theapplication that supports the rest of the schedule construction process.Suitable error-checking applications may run primarily on the televisionsystem office computer, primarily on the main facility computer, or mayrun on both the television system office computer and the main facilitycomputer. Although shown as separate steps, the error-checking functionsof steps 114, 116, 118, and 120 are not necessarily mutually exclusive.Moreover, although shown in a certain order in FIG. 5, sucherror-checking steps may be performed in any desired order or may beperformed concurrently.

Upon completion of the program schedule construction of step 40, theprogram data for a television system may be submitted to main facility12 at step 134. Program data that was stored locally on the televisionsystem office computer during program schedule construction may betransmitted to the main facility database over data network 30 (FIG. 1).Program data that was stored on the main facility database duringprogram schedule construction (e.g., in the form of a web page on themain facility server) may be submitted by sending commands to the mainfacility database indicating that schedule construction is complete.

At step 136, the main facility assembles the program data submitted inthe program schedules of the various different television systems anduses this information to update database 14. For example, database 14may be updated to reflect current schedule information contained in theprogram schedule for a local broadcast station that was submitted atstep 134.

When sufficient program data has been collected from the televisionsystems that submit such data to generate complete sets of program datafor all of the channels in a television system's lineup for anappropriate time period (e.g., for the next week), main facility 12forms a suitable customized set of next week's program data for thattelevision system and transmits this program data to the appropriatetelevision distribution facility 18 at step 138. The televisiondistribution facility 18 may use the program data from the main facilityto provide a passive television program guide or may retransmit theprogram data to user equipment 24 for use in an interactive televisionprogram guide.

Another aspect of the invention involves the generation of reports thatcan be used by marketing and sales personnel. Personnel at a televisionsystem must typically sell advertizing time, make promotions, andperform other sales and marketing tasks based on the program schedulefor that television system. The program schedule for a given televisionsystem office to use in generating ad trafficking reports may be basedon program schedule data stored locally by the television system officecomputer during schedule construction. The program schedule for a giventelevision system office to use in generating ad trafficking reports mayalso be based on program schedule data stored in the main facilitydatabase (e.g., after the data has been collected from the varioustelevision systems submitting such data). If the program schedule dataused to generate an ad trafficking report is stored locally, the adtrafficking report may be generated at step 122 as soon as thelocally-stored data is finalized (see path 123 of FIG. 2). If theprogram schedule data used to generate an ad trafficking report isobtained from the main facility database, the ad trafficking report maybe generated at step 122 by accessing such data in the main facilityafter the data has been collected from each television system datasource (see path 125).

An illustrative ad trafficking report 124 generated based on the programschedule of a given television station is shown in FIG. 6. An adtrafficking report typically includes information concerning the amountof advertizing time that the personnel at the television station haveavailable to sell for each given time period. For example, in adtrafficking report 124, the number of available advertizing minutes 126is shown for each time period 128 and associated title 130. The amountof time available for sale may depend on a variety of factors, such asthe nominal running time of the scheduled program, the amount ofnational advertizing or local advertizing that is already committed forthat slot, the amount of public service announcement or stationidentification time required for that slot, etc. Each of these factorsmay be used to generate an ad trafficking report in step 122 of FIG. 2.Because the program data needed to generate such a report iselectronically available to the television system office computer eitherlocally or on database 14, the television system office computer canperform the calculations involved in generating ad trafficking report124 rapidly without human intervention.

The television system office computer may incorporate program data suchas program summary information 132 into ad trafficking report 124.Summary information 132, which may include running times, ratings,category information, reviews, etc., may be obtained from database 14.Providing such summary information in ad trafficking report 124 allowstelevision system sales or marketing personnel to use the summaryinformation in making advertizing sales, promotions, etc.

If desired, main facility 12 may distribute program data to video orprint facilities other than television distribution facilities. Forexample, program data may be distributed to a print facility for use ina program guide that is printed rather than electronic.

The foregoing is merely illustrative of the principles of this inventionand various modifications can be made by those skilled in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

1. A method for constructing program schedules, the method comprising:receiving program data from a remote source with a television systemoffice computer; automatically loading the program data into cells of aprogram schedule grid displayed using the television system officecomputer, wherein at least one of the columns and rows of the programschedule grid is associated with a scheduled broadcast time; and editingthe program data in response to personnel interacting with the programschedule grid using the television system office computer.
 2. The methodof claim 1 wherein receiving program data comprises receiving programtitles.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving program datacomprises receiving program summary information.
 4. The method of claim1 wherein receiving program data comprises receiving program runningtimes.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving program data comprisesreceiving program ratings.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein receivingprogram data comprises receiving program data over the Internet.
 7. Themethod of claim 1 wherein editing the program data comprises copyingprogram data from a cell of the program schedule grid.
 8. The method ofclaim 7 wherein editing the program data further comprises pasting thecopied program data into a second cell of the program schedule grid. 9.The method of claim 1 wherein editing the program data comprisesdeleting program data from a cell of the program schedule grid.
 10. Themethod of claim 9 wherein editing the program data further comprisesundeleting the program data deleted from the cell of the programschedule grid.
 11. The method of claim 1 further comprising addingprogram data to a blank cell of the program schedule grid in response tothe personnel interacting with the program schedule grid using thetelevision system office computer.
 12. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising searching for program data in the program schedule grid inresponse to the personnel accessing a search function using thetelevision system office computer.
 13. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising setting display preferences for the program schedule grid inaccordance with inputs received from the personnel using the televisionsystem office computer.
 14. A system for constructing program schedules,the system comprising: means for receiving program data from a remotesource with a television system office computer; means for automaticallyloading the program data into cells of a program schedule grid displayedusing the television system office computer, wherein at least one of thecolumns and rows of the program schedule grid is associated with ascheduled broadcast time; and means for editing the program data inresponse to personnel interacting with the program schedule grid usingthe television system office computer.
 15. The system of claim 14wherein the means for receiving program data comprises means forreceiving program titles.
 16. The system of claim 14 wherein the meansfor receiving program data comprises means for receiving program summaryinformation.
 17. The system of claim 14 wherein the means for receivingprogram data comprises means for receiving program running times. 18.The system of claim 14 wherein the means for receiving program datacomprises means for receiving program ratings.
 19. The system of claim14 wherein the means for receiving program data comprises means forreceiving program data over the Internet.
 20. The system of claim 14wherein the means for editing the program data comprises means forcopying program data from a cell of the program schedule grid.
 21. Thesystem of claim 20 wherein the means for editing the program datafurther comprises means for pasting the copied program data into asecond cell of the program schedule grid.
 22. The system of claim 14wherein the means for editing the program data comprises deletingprogram data from a cell of the program schedule grid.
 23. The system ofclaim 22 wherein the means for editing the program data furthercomprises means for undeleting the program data deleted from the cell ofthe program schedule grid.
 24. The system of claim 14 further comprisingmeans for adding program data to a blank cell of the program schedulegrid in response to the personnel interacting with the program schedulegrid using the television system office computer.
 25. The system ofclaim 14 further comprising means for searching for program data in theprogram schedule grid in response to the personnel accessing a searchfunction using the television system office computer.
 26. The system ofclaim 14 further comprising means for setting display preferences forthe program schedule grid in accordance with inputs received from thepersonnel using the television system office computer. 27.Machine-readable media for use in constructing program schedules,wherein the machine-readable media is encoded with machine-readableinstructions for performing the method comprising: receiving programdata from a remote source with a television system office computer;automatically loading the program data into cells of a program schedulegrid displayed using the television system office computer, wherein atleast one of the columns and rows of the program schedule grid isassociated with a scheduled broadcast time; and editing the program datain response to personnel interacting with the program schedule gridusing the television system office computer.
 28. The machine-readablemedia defined in claim 27 wherein the machine-readable instructions forreceiving program data comprises machine-readable instructions forreceiving program titles.
 29. The machine-readable media defined inclaim 27 wherein the machine-readable instructions for receiving programdata comprises machine-readable instructions for receiving programsummary information.
 30. The machine-readable media defined in claim 27wherein the machine-readable instructions for receiving program datacomprises machine-readable instructions for receiving program runningtimes.
 31. The machine-readable media defined in claim 27 wherein themachine-readable instructions for receiving program data comprisesmachine-readable instructions for receiving program ratings.
 32. Themachine-readable media defined in claim 27 wherein the machine-readableinstructions for receiving program data comprises machine-readableinstructions for receiving program data over the Internet.
 33. Themachine-readable media defined in claim 27 wherein the machine-readableinstructions for editing the program data comprises machine-readableinstructions for copying program data from a cell of the programschedule grid.
 34. The machine-readable media defined in claim 33wherein the machine-readable instructions for editing the program datafurther comprises machine-readable instructions for pasting the copiedprogram data into a second cell of the program schedule grid.
 35. Themachine-readable media defined in claim 27 wherein the machine-readableinstructions for editing the program data comprises machine-readableinstructions for deleting program data from a cell of the programschedule grid.
 36. The machine-readable media defined in claim 35wherein the machine-readable instructions for editing the program datafurther comprises machine-readable instructions for undeleting theprogram data deleted from the cell of the program schedule grid.
 37. Themachine-readable media defined in claim 27 further encoded withmachine-readable instructions for adding program data to a blank cell ofthe program schedule grid in response to the personnel interacting withthe program schedule grid using the television system office computer.38. The machine-readable media defined in claim 27 further encoded withmachine-readable instructions for searching for program data in theprogram schedule grid in response to the personnel accessing a searchfunction using the television system office computer.
 39. Themachine-readable media defined in claim 27 further encoded withmachine-readable instructions for setting display preferences for theprogram schedule grid in accordance with inputs received from thepersonnel using the television system office computer.
 40. A system forconstructing program schedules, the system comprising: a televisionsystem office computer configured to provide a program grid schedulegrid, the program schedule grid having cells for automatically loadingprogram data received by the television system office computer from aremote source, wherein the television system office computer is furtherconfigured to edit the program data in response to personnel interactingwith the program schedule grid using the television system officecomputer, wherein at least one of the columns and rows of the programschedule grid is associated with a scheduled broadcast time.
 41. Thesystem of claim 40 wherein the program data received by the televisionsystem office computer comprises program titles.
 42. The system of claim40 wherein the program data received by the television system officecomputer comprises program summary information.
 43. The system of claim40 wherein the program data received by the television system officecomputer comprises program running times.
 44. The system of claim 40wherein the program data received by the television system officecomputer comprises program ratings.
 45. The system of claim 40 whereinthe program data received by the television system office computercomprises program data over the Internet.
 46. The system of claim 40wherein the television system computer is configured to edit the programdata by copying program data from a cell of the program schedule grid.47. The system of claim 46 wherein the television system computer isconfigured to edit the program data by pasting the copied program datainto a second cell of the program schedule grid.
 48. The system of claim40 wherein the television system computer is configured to edit theprogram data by deleting program data from a cell of the programschedule grid.
 49. The system of claim 48 wherein the television systemcomputer is configured to edit the program data by undeleting theprogram data deleted from the cell of the program schedule grid.
 50. Thesystem of claim 40 wherein the television system computer is furtherconfigured to add program data to a blank cell of the program schedulegrid in response to the personnel interacting with the program schedulegrid using the television system office computer.
 51. The system ofclaim 40 wherein the television system computer is further configured tosearch for program data in the program schedule grid in response to thepersonnel accessing a search function using the television system officecomputer.
 52. The system of claim 40 wherein the television systemcomputer is further configured to set display preferences for theprogram schedule grid in accordance with inputs received from thepersonnel using the television system office computer.